The Ultimate Merger (4 page)

Because of him.

She’d fallen hopelessly in love in such a
short time, and it scared her. She dreaded the end of the
relationship, but the end loomed near. Once he concluded the deal
he’d been working on, Renaldo would return to his country. Lucky
for her, he’d hit a few snags and the real estate closing had been
delayed.

Sabrina rolled over and stared at her lover’s
back as he stood looking out one of the windows at the breathtaking
view of Lake Michigan. With one arm braced on the window frame, he
spoke in a low tone into the phone so as not to disturb her, not
knowing she was still awake. Her eyes drifted over his bare back
and the solid beams of his long legs in a pair of black boxer
briefs that clung to his firm buttocks.

Renaldo da Silva was every woman’s dream.
Muscles covered each inch of tanned flesh, and every night they
spent together she received such pleasure that she closed her eyes
momentarily as warm sensations filled her.

When she lifted her lids, she saw he’d turned
toward her. His onyx-colored eyes swept over the imprint of her
body beneath the covers. Heat swelled within her, and she welcomed
his attention, even though they’d already made love this
morning.

He said something into the mouthpiece of the
phone. Then she heard him say, “
Adeus
,” never taking his
eyes from her, before he hung up and placed the phone on a table
against the wall.

She smiled. “Are you coming back to bed
now?”

One corner of his mouth slanted upward. “You
were not satisfied earlier? I’m not doing my job very well.” He
walked with confidence toward the bed, and Sabrina dragged the
sheet down her skin to unveil her body and invite him onto the
mattress with her.

He growled low in his throat, eyes darkening
as his gaze swept her nakedness. The creep of moisture between her
thighs readied her for him. She wanted him in the worst way.

“I guess you’ll have to work harder,” she
whispered breathlessly.

He lowered onto the bed and slipped his hand
between her open legs. He tenderly kissed the corner of her mouth
while his fingers stroked with skill.

“
Sim
,” he whispered. He lifted his
head and looked down at her beneath half-lowered lids. “I will work
very, very hard this time,
meu amor
.”

With a wicked grin, he covered her body and
went to work.

****

Two days later, Sabrina arrived at her job
with a smile on her face, all because she’d spent another
satisfying night with Renaldo—or Renny, as she teasingly called
him. She was enjoying this little affair too much. She should thank
her employer for getting on her nerves or she would never have gone
out that Friday night, and then she never would have met
Renaldo.

When she considered the men she’d been
involved with in the past, no one else compared. She’d dropped her
friend-with-benefits, Samuel. All because Renaldo had become
absolutely addictive.

They had so much in common. They were both
driven, with a strong work ethic. Because of that, he treated her
as an equal and didn’t try to put her in a box. Several times he’d
bounced ideas off of her and asked her opinion about aspects of the
hotel purchase. She’d been flattered he valued her opinion so much
and wished she could garner the same respect at her place of
employment.

On the weekends, she took him around the
city. At one of her favorite pizza joints, they ate authentic
Chicago-style pizza, a deep-dish pie filled with cheese, chunky
tomato sauce, and meat and vegetable toppings. One weekend she
joined him on a bus tour of the city. She’d learned some things
herself as she listened to the guide. They also set sail on a
one-hour architectural cruise and listened as the young woman
explained how the city bounced back from the Great Fire of 1871 to
become a show piece of modern American architecture.

One of her favorite things was learning his
language. She knew how to count to twenty in Portuguese now, and
he’d gotten into the habit of teaching her two new expressions
every day.

Bom dia
. Good morning.

Boa tarde
. Good afternoon.

De onde você é?
Where are you
from?

Desculpe
. I’m sorry.

And her favorite words:
Até amanhã
.
See you tomorrow.

Sabrina entered the tall, glass-covered
building on Michigan Avenue and rode the elevator up to the floor
where she worked. On the way to her office, Ernestine’s voice
stopped her in her tracks.

“Sabrina, you have a visitor.”

The look in the other woman’s eyes made her
uneasy. Her fingers curled tighter around the covered cup of coffee
in her hand, and she hitched her leather business bag higher on her
shoulder. She started to lose the buzz from her morning high.

“Who is it?”

“She didn’t give her name, but she said she’s
your cousin…?” The feeling of dread increased exponentially.
Ernestine lifted one brow higher, her tone and expression
suggesting either she doubted they were family, or she didn’t
comprehend how they could be. “She’s in the restroom right
now.”

Taking a deep breath, Sabrina forced what she
hoped looked like a genuine smile onto her face. “When she comes
out, please send her back to my office.”

Ernestine nodded and Sabrina stepped quickly
down the hall, not bothering to pause and say “Good morning” to her
officemates like she usually did. She couldn’t, because her mind
reeled at the thought that Jewel was here, at her workplace.

It had to be Jewel, because she was the only
family Sabrina kept in contact with in Chicago. She’d walked away
from the old neighborhood years ago—the crime, the filth, the
drugs, the dysfunction. She wanted no part of the old life to
connect with her career.

But Jewel was here.

Oh my
God.

Sabrina’s mouth fell open as she stared at
her cousin’s bedraggled appearance from behind her desk.

Her cousin’s eyes filled with embarrassment.
“Hi, Brina.”

Jewel Porter looked like she’d been dragged
through a sewer once, and dragged through it again for good
measure. Her skin, the same buttery color as Sabrina’s, was covered
in dirt and had an unhealthy pallor to it. Her long hair was
disheveled and clumped together in several places. And the
smell…

“Jewel,” she whispered, her heart hurting.
She raced around the desk.

“No.” Jewel stepped back, lowered her eyes
and shook her head. “I don’t want to get you dirty. I-I just…” Her
face crumbled.

“What happened to you?” This was the worst
she’d ever seen her.

Three months had passed since they last saw
each other, and Sabrina had begun to wonder if her cousin had died.
She’d never stayed away this long before. She hadn’t even called
once the entire time. Sabrina called the police and checked at
hospitals, each time sagging with relief when no one fitting her
cousin’s description was in either location.

Her gaunt appearance terrified Sabrina. When
had she last eaten? Other than drugs, what else was she putting
into her body?

Jewel kept her eyes trained on the floor.
“I’m sorry, Brina. I need your help. I don’t know where else to go.
I tried to reach you at home, but…but you were never there. I
didn’t know how else to get in touch with you.”

Sabrina had been having a good time, spending
every possible moment with Renaldo, when her cousin had needed her.
The weight of guilt came down on her conscience.

“I’m here for you. You know that.”

Jewel covered her face and cried. She barely
made a sound, which made it even more heart-wrenching. Sabrina
gripped her cousin’s arms. She was so stick-thin that Sabrina’s
fingers touched her thumb.

“Look at me. Look at me, Jewel.” Her voice
shook, because she was scared. She knew what could happen. They’d
been raised together and were practically sisters. They’d both lost
their mothers to drugs. She couldn’t lose Jewel, too. She wouldn’t
let it happen.

Jewel’s empty, tear-filled eyes finally
lifted.

“We’ll beat this, okay? We’ll do it together.
You and me, just like always.”

Jewel nodded like a child, looking needy and
trusting.

Sabrina rushed around her desk and grabbed
her bag. She picked up the phone and told Ernestine she had a
family emergency and was leaving for the day.

“Come on,” she said, pulling Jewel behind
her. First, she had to get her cousin cleaned up and give her
clothes to wear. Then they’d go to a doctor.

She didn’t even want to know what Jewel had
been up to. She already knew what happened when women ran out of
money because she’d seen her mother do it. They used their bodies
as currency.

****

Renaldo stared at his phone on the desk in
his suite. He rubbed his fingers across his jaw. He tried not to
succumb to the need to call Sabrina again. He’d already texted and
called her this morning. It was now mid-afternoon and he still
hadn’t heard from her. Very unusual.

He didn’t like not having answers. He picked
up the phone and examined it, checking his list of texts to make
sure he hadn’t missed any. No missed voicemails, either.

Where was she?

Should he be worried? Was she busy today? Or
was she blowing him off?

****

Thursday morning, Renaldo sat in the real
estate closing signing documents. The deal was done, yet he had
unfinished business.

He hadn’t seen Sabrina in three days, the
longest period since they’d started their affair.  A short
text from her didn’t explain much except that she was very busy
with a family issue. Her explanation surprised him because he could
count on one hand the number of times she’d provided any
information about her family. When he offered to help, she’d turned
him down, stating she could take care of it on her own.

Whatever “it” was took up a lot of her time.
Not only had she cut off contact with him, but when he showed up at
her job unannounced, he discovered she’d taken leave from work.
What was going on that caused someone like her to leave work?

With a flight booked to leave for Brazil
tomorrow, he wanted to see her before he left. Maybe he was being
selfish, but he needed to see her. Needed. Not wanted. Needed.
She’d become as important to him as breathing.

“Last one,” the attorney said, pushing
another piece of paper at him to sign.

He scribbled his signature in blue ink and
then rose from the chair.

“Congratulations.”

Renaldo didn’t return the man’s smile. “Let’s
wrap this up,” he said, casting an impatient glance at his
watch.

“Certainly, sir. I’ll put together your
packet of documents. As a reminder, if we find any errors later,
you’re required to…”

Renaldo tuned out the attorney. All he could
think about was Sabrina. He didn’t want to leave without saying a
proper goodbye. And he wanted to talk to her about their
relationship. He’d be back and forth to the United States now, and
he intended to continue seeing her. Did she want to continue seeing
him?

Sabrina stepped out of the shower and rubbed
lotion all over her skin. She sprayed on a light fragrance and
finger-combed her hair, loosening the curls and forcing them into a
position that framed her face.

Now she had Jewel settled in a treatment
facility, she felt more at ease and planned to return to work on
Monday.

She donned her green silk robe and stepped
out of the bathroom into the master bedroom of her two-bedroom
apartment. She didn’t need the two bedrooms, but she kept them
because of Jewel. Her cousin had come and gone out of her life over
the years. Whenever Jewel cleaned up, she always stayed with
Sabrina.

When they were younger, safety and
cleanliness were a luxury they couldn’t afford. As two parentless
teens, they’d struggled to make ends meet.

Jewel’s downward slide started slowly. First,
underage drinking. Then weed. Then the dreaded crack. During
Sabrina’s freshman year in college, Jewel, two years younger than
she, had fallen prey to the same drug that had taken the life of
Sabrina’s mother.

Only in recent years had Sabrina herself
started drinking. Drugs had never been an option after seeing how
it destroyed her family and the people around her. Jewel had always
been a daredevil and rebellious. Her rebellious spirit had been her
downfall.

Sabrina had no intention of ever turning her
back on her, though. As far as she was concerned, Jewel was her
sister, just like their mothers had been sisters. She would always
look out for her and make sure she was safe. Maybe this stint in
rehab would work. It had to. Her cousin’s appearance had scared her
so much this time, she worried Jewel would end up dead.

She walked into the living room with a black
dress in hand, pulled the ironing board from the closet, and set it
up. Now she had to talk to Renaldo. She’d avoided him long enough.
He was leaving the country tomorrow, and she couldn’t let him leave
without seeing him one more time.

She loved him, and she wanted to say a proper
goodbye. At this point, she didn’t even know if he wanted to see
her, but she had to try.

A knock sounded on the door. She wasn’t
expecting anyone. She set the dress on the ironing board.

“Who is it?”

No answer, but the knock came again, louder
this time, sounding like a sledgehammer.

She stood in the hallway for a moment, and
then she tiptoed to the door and peered through the peep hole.

Renaldo! Her heart skipped a beat.

She undid the safety latch and swung open the
door. “Renny!” The smile on her face died a quick death when he
stared back at her with an angry scowl.